Easy Halloween Face Painting Designs
by: JoAnne Westcott
With Halloween quickly approaching, face painting season is kicking into high gear. Try these easy, but immensely child-pleasing Halloween "cheek art" designs at class parties, fall festivals and homecoming carnivals.
Begin with good quality, water-based face paints. You can find them online or in some theatrical stores. A palette of six, good-quality face paints is priced around $12.00 and includes enough paint for 70 or more cheek art designs. Water-based face paints apply as easily as watercolors and remove cleanly with a paper towel and water.
For a small gathering of children, two or three small to medium sized paint brushes will be sufficient. A bowl of water to rinse the brushes and a roll of paper towels conclude the list of basic supplies.
In my opinion, the simplest design to paint is that of a ghost. The basic shape of the ghost is that of a triangle. With a brush loaded with white paint, paint a loose triangle by creating a wavy line to outline the ghost. Fill in with more white paint, dot on black eyes and a smile and the ghost is complete.
Nothing is "sweeter" than a face dotted with painted candy corn. The basic shape is a pyramid, with yellow on the bottom third, orange on the middle third and white at the peak. You can create a candy corn crown by painting the candies in succession along the forehead.
To paint a jack-o-lantern, begin with a circle or oval of orange paint. When the orange paint dries, add small triangles in black paint for the eyes and nose and paint a toothy smile in black as well. Add a green stem and your jack-o-lantern is complete.
The most important thing to remember when face painting is to have fun and keep it simple! Children aren't expecting a Picasso to be painted on their face. They simply love to celebrate the occasion and face painting is the perfect way to light up the face of any child.
About The Author
JoAnne Westcott is the author of Easy Face Painting: How You Can Get Professional Results Even If You've Never Picked Up A Paintbrush.
You can learn more about face painting and how to acquire the simple skills to get started by visiting http://www.easyfacepainting.com
article compliments of ArticleCity
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Getting
Great Pictures of the Kids this Halloween
by: Jeff Westover
There she was in all her glory. Long white lab coat, frizzy hair, safety goggles -- and a face smeared with the black ash of an experiment gone terrifically wrong. She was, at least on this Halloween night, Dr. Abby Normal. But for most of her life I had known her as Abigail, my daughter, and I had just taken some of the most legendary photos of her life.
These weren't your garden-variety portraits. Not exactly Wal Mart
studio stuff either. They were pictures taken of my kids in their
natural element -- being kids. That is the real photo opportunity
of a holiday like Halloween.
For treasured images this Halloween, here are some quick tips to
remember to get once-in-a-lifetime photos:
1. Stop Posing -- Halloween is not a formal affair. So don't bother
with the wedding style shots. Engage the kids in the play associated
with their costumes -- and THEN shoot the pictures. Candids reveal
the smiles much more than a "Hold still, honey!" moment.
2. Shoot Early, Shoot Often -- Film is the cheapest part of photography.
And in this digital age, there just isn't a reason not to shoot
several images. There are many good reasons for being trigger happy
with the camera. First, if kids are use to you constantly firing
away they won't bother with the plastic smiles. But most importantly,
shooting more simply increases your chances for great pictures.
With Halloween pictures some of the best images are taken while
the costuming is in process -- don't wait for the finished product
in getting out the camera.
3. Get in Their Face -- Halloween was made for pretend. Kids love
to make faces, don costumes and assume a new personality. It is
the ultimate form of exhibition. You just can't let the opportunity
pass. They WANT to be noticed. Most point-and-shoot variety cameras
have wide-angle lenses. While this helps them to get sharp results
and to work well in lower light, they tend to move the subject matter
further away. Most have a minimum shooting distance of around three
feet. Don't be afraid to push that limit at Halloween. Get in close,
have them make faces, ask them to talk to the camera. They will.
It is, after all, Halloween.
4. Let Them Call the Shots -- It's their party. Ask them what kind
of pictures they want. When my son was Harry Potter a few years
back he wanted to jump off the roof on his Nimbus 2000. We had to
reason with him a bit. But a little leap from a lawn chair to the
grass did the trick and we got the shots of Harry in flight. Chances
are your kids have an idea of the persona they are adopting. Let
them call the shots to document the experience.
5. Use the set -- Most of us decorate for the season. There could
be haystacks, a bubbling pot, a roaring fireplace. Use these props,
even if they don't fit the theme of the costume. Down the road the
memories you cherish will include all the fun that went into creating
the holiday environment in your home.
Good candid pictures of children require active participation and
putting them at ease. Halloween is the easiest of seasons in which
to do this. © 2004 by Jeff Westover
About The Author
Jeff Westover is a freelance writer and father of seven from Salt
Lake City, Utah. He is the managing editor of My
Merry Christmas.com, where folks have been making merry
online for more than a decade. He writes about holidays, families,
parenting, home schooling and photography for a variety of publications
both online and offline. Please visit http://mymerrychristmas.com
for more articles like this one.
article compliments of ArticleCity
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